Multi tabling

I bet you heard of multi tabling in online poker. Just in case you haven't yet, let's see what it's all about.

Most online poker rooms (like Ultimate Bet) support mini-table views for multi tabling. That means it is possible for you to simultaneously open up several poker tables and play at all of them in the same time. If you use the mini table view, you can watch the action at all of these tables simultaneously.

Now that you know what multi tabling is, let's take a look at why it exists. Winning poker players find it relatively easy to beat low-limit/stakes tables. They have a very simple basic strategy working for these tables, the only problem is, the amount of money they generate/hour is minute (a few bucks). At that rate, it's simply not lucrative enough for them to keep on playing. They can either choose to move on to bigger limits, or they can find a way to multiply the small-stakes profit that they make.

Moving on to higher limits is a much more risky option though. Being under-bankrolled is always a problem for players at higher limits. The factors that turn a player into a winner are quite complex, but playing at limits where their bankroll offers them a comfortable cushion, is definitely one of these factors.

How can someone multiply their small stakes profit? Simple: by multi tabling. Playing several tables at the same time is indeed a huge challenge. If you've ever tried it you're probably aware how overwhelming it can be, especially if you're used to playing a single table all the time.
In order to be able to multi table comfortably, you probably need a bigger screen than what you have, or you may even want to think about setting up multiple desktops. For that, you'll also need to change your display adapter, and quite probably, you'll need to acquire some specialized software. While multi-tabling, all those tiny windows tend to jump up on top whenever there is something there that requires your attention. There are software solutions out there (like MTH) which will queue up the tables for you in order to make the whole decision-making process smoother.

What's the use to set up all the hard- and software though if you fail to achieve your objective: staying a winner even when you play at several tables at the same time.
Whoever tells you that playing multiple tables is just as easy as playing a single one is a liar. The fact is, no way in hell will you be able to pay as much attention to every single table and opponent, when multi-tabling.

You'll have to simplify the whole decision-making process, which means your game will really tighten up. This is the exact reason why you should avoid multi tabling regular cash tables. At these tables, many of the plays you make will be heavily dependent on the reads you get out of your opponents' betting patterns. Since you won't be able to make any reads while multi-tabling, I'll leave it to you to decide what's the best course of action here.

Online Poker Tournaments are a different matter. Survival is highly valued in these games, and playing tight is all about survival. Basic tournament strategy should work just fine in multi-tabling too. Another use for multi-tabling is to generate rake faster. Most of the bonuses a poker room awards its players are dependant on the quantity of the rake the player will generate. You will usually have to generate a certain number of poker points per bonus dollar in order to receive your money.

Multi-tabling at cash-tables for this purpose is quite common among better players.